All posts for the month February, 2012

In last week’s Super Bowl preview, I mentioned that the final score of Super Bowl XLII was 21-17, which was incorrect. “This will be a game very similar to the Super Bowl 4 years ago, with perhaps a bit more scoring than the 21-17 score.” Well the famous FMQB Psychic Abilities must have taken over subconsciously, because the score of the game 4 years ago was actually 17-14, not 21-17, which was the score of THIS GAME two days after I wrote it!!! (Twilight Zone Music playing). What I MEANT to say was a bit more scoring than the 17-14 score from 4 years ago…I also nailed a couple other points, read what I had last week and I willBOLD the interesting points.

Last Week: This should be a very hot and contested battle between these two teams. Probably very similar to the 24-20 score that we saw on Week 9. Here are a few predictions in the game. Gronkowski and Welker should each have a TD reception. The Patriots will try to run the ball, but abandon it with 10 minutes left in the 3rd quarter after racking up a mere 42 yards rushing. Gostkowski will kick 3 field goals after the Patriots drives stall within the red zone. Tom Brady will throw 2 interceptions. As for the Giants, Hakeem Nicks will have a 50+ yard catch, possibly for a TD. The 3 TD’s the Giants score will be a Bradshaw run, a Nicks fade to the back of the endzone, and a Victor Cruz slant from the 3 yard line. The Giants defense will step up, causing 2 interceptions and 1 fumble, while Brandon Jacobs fumbles the ball somewhere as well. Manning will struggle most of the day, but lead the Giants on an 80 yd touchdown drive within the last 4 minutes of the game. Brady will have a shot to match it with enough time, but will fail to convert on a 4th and 3. The Giants will end up winning the game 24-23, thus ensuring that Manning and Tom Coughlin go into the Hall of Fame. Brady and Belichick will look deflated after seeing that out of all the teams, the Giants have their number.

Prediction Analysis:

The Patriots attempted to run the ball the entire game, but racked up a mere 44 yards from their leading rusher (I predicted 42).

I had Bradshaw and Cruz each scoring a TD. My Cruz TD was a 3 yard slant, but in real life it was a 2 yard slant!!!

Eli led the Giants on an 88yd TD drive with 3:46 left in the game (I predicted 80 yards within 4 minutes).

Brady had a shot to match it, but failed.

Manning and Coughlin are already getting Hall of Fame talk, while Brady and Belichick looked deflated.

Last three Patriots-Giants games with 60 seconds left

The game

Score after 59 minutes

Final Score

Time of winning NY TD

Super Bowl XLVI, Feb. 5, 2012

NE, 17-15

NY, 21-17

:57

Nov. 6, 2011

NE, 20-17

NY, 24-20

:15

Super Bowl XLII, Feb. 3, 2008

NE, 14-10

NY, 17-14

:35

Super Stat of the Week:

The Giants started off 7-7, and then won 6 games in a row to win the Super Bowl.

Super Stat of the Week #2:

David Tyree’s Helmet Catch in Super Bowl XLII, was his last catch of his career.

Super Stat of the Week #3:

Eli Manning is 7-0 as a starter on the road in the playoffs, with 12 touchdown passes versus two interceptions.

Super Stat of the Week #4:

In QB rematches in the Super Bowl, the 3 QB’s who won the first game went on to win the second game.

Super Stat of the Week #5:

The Giants were outscored in the regular season, and were swept by the Washington Redskins. Also had a streak where they lost 5 of 6 games.

How Great are the Patriots?

The Patriots have not showed any dominance in any Super Bowl they played in. In fact, they could just as easily be 5-0, or 0-5. Bill Belichick’s New England Patriots have appeared in five Super Bowls, scoring 107 points while allowing 105 points. The Patriots have won the Super Bowl three times by three points on three occasions, lost by three points on one occasion and lost by four points on Sunday. In each game, one bounce of the ball could basically change the outcome by 3 points. Ty Law’s pick 6 was the game changer against the Rams, and Carolina kicking it out of bounds gave Brady a short field on the last drive.

Unsung Hero:

My Unsung MVP of the Super Bowl is Steve Weatherford…who? The Giants Punter. His first punt landed at the 6 yard line, and directly led to 2 points. Two other punts were inside the 20 yd line, and it was easy to see the Giants won the field position game. Let’s hope Eli throws the keys of that Corvette over to Steve.

Excitement:

With all the “lack of hype” this game got, I’ve got to say that this was one of the most exciting Super Bowl’s I’ve seen in awhile. Starting with an 88yd touchdown drive, and knowing the Patriots couldn’t stop the clock (or the Giants for that matter). Then giving Brady the ball with a minute left and him having a hail mary shot at the endzone as time ran out. My adrenaline was flowing and my heart was going crazy! The exciting thing about it was that it was such a close game, and without a lot of scoring, you knew that one bounce of the ball would completely change the game.

Game Notes:

The Giants pass rush was not that effective, but it mattered when it counted. The 3rd down sack of Brady on the final drive was huge. So was the safety on the first play of the game. After Manning and Weatherford, I think it’s safe to say that Justin Tuck gets my #3 nod for MVP.

Victor Cruz had a decent first half, and then was completely shut down. You have to give the Patriots credit, Belichick told his team “Force it to Manningham” (which we’ll discuss later), but the Patriots did an excellent job at shutting Cruz down.

The Interception by Chase Blackburn, keeping up with Rob Gronkowski (even though he was gimpy) was just plain brilliant. Undrafted LB chasing down the best TE in the league, and intercepting the ball from one of the best QBs of all time.

Brady’s 98 yard drive at the end of the first half, going 10 for 10, and scoring with seconds left before halftime. Brilliant, should have been a game changer.

While we’re on the subject, Brady completing 16 passes in a row during the game, beating Joe Montana’s record. Very impressive.

There was only one turnover in this game (the deep Brady interception), but there were 2 fumbles by the Giants that literally made my heart skip a beat. One by Bradshaw (but an OL recovered), and the second by Cruz which was a legit fumble until the Patriots got flagged for 12 men on the field. That play right there changed the game, and could have led to a Patriots win.

Eli is known for the 4th quarter, but the Giants 1st quarter dominance set the tone. At one point with 3 minutes left in the quarter, the Giants had 108 total yds vs. the Patriots 0 yards and only one offensive play.

Belichick’s call to let Bradshaw score was the gutsiest and best coaching move the entire game. It’s tough to make that call, but it gave the Patriots the best chance to win the game.

Eli’s 88yd TD drive within 4 minutes of the game should go into history as one of the Top 5 Super Bowl winning drives of all-time. Joe Montana had an amazing one, Brady in 2001, and Eli’s in 2008 are in there too.

What were the Football Gods thinking?!?!

FMQB branded both teams in the Super Bowl this year, Los Tramposos and the Cheatriots. The football gods had to smite one of the teams!

Gisele is Right:

I hate to side with the Supermodel on this one, but she is right. There were 3 blatantly dropped passes in the last 6 minutes of the game for the Patriots. Welker’s was HUGE, and would have forced a TD by the Giants with less time on the clock and fewer timeouts. Then Hernandez and Branch had big drops on the final drive that may have put the Patriots at the 35 yard line and perhaps a better shot at a hail mary. I should point out that all 3 passes were slightly off by Brady, but they were all catchable balls.

“Who’s Elite Nooooowwwwww”

With all the self-absorbed players in the NFL all claiming to be the best and holding out for money, I was pretty surprised when Eli Manning said he should be considered in the Elite QBs of the league, especially coming from a guy who isn’t that outspoken. But to make that remark, have 15 4th quarter TD’s, and have an 88yard Super Bowl winning TD drive with under 4 minutes left. All I can say is CLUTCH, you backed up your comments man. Eli deserves some major props for putting his money where his mouth is. Eli went from not being “Elite” to being a hall of fame QB in one season.

Quote of the Week:

“Ahhhhh Helmet Catch” FMQB (as the ball was in the air to Manningham for his sideline beauty)

Quote of the Week #2:

Thusday:

“What are you smiling about?” FFMQB

“The Super Bowl” FMQB

Perhaps gives you an idea of how pumped I was to see the Giants win, that I was still excited on Thursday night!

Repeat?

Is it just me, or is this the first year in awhile that the Giants probably won’t even be in the Top 5 teams expected to win the Super Bowl next year. Not to take anything away from their championship, but it sort of seemed like they just got hot at the right time, but weren’t exactly the BEST team in the league. For me, Super Bowl favorites in this order are: Packers, Saints, Patriots, Steelers, Ravens, Giants, whatever team Peyton Manning goes to…

Stay Tuned:

FMQB has one more episode, and is putting together a fun, final column recapping the season that should be out in a few weeks!!!

Yeah Yeah, I know it’s 12:54pm which technically doesn’t make me the Friday “Morning” Quarterback, but I didn’t want to rush this one.

Remember Remember…

Before we jump to looking at the Super Bowl, let’s take a quick look back on how the teams got here.

AFC Championship Game:

While on our way back from Iowa, I was originally disappointed that I would miss being able to watch the AFC Championship game. However I got to listen to the game on the radio with bated breath as the announcers brilliantly described the game. From what I heard (and highlights I saw), it was hard to admit or see that the Patriots deserved to win that game. The Ravens defense played brilliantly, holding a QB with 39 TDs (and 6 TDs the week before) to 0. The Ravens offense also outperformed, with better rushing and passing numbers. The Ravens also won the turnover battle! Everything pointed towards the Patriots losing that game, except one thing…the “IT” factor. Belichick and Brady have “IT,” they do what “IT” takes to win games. With the Ravens rushing out Billy Cundiff for a FG, most coaches would have iced the kicker, but Belichick realized that they were hurrying and chose not to call a timeout. Errant hold, horrible kick, and the Ravens go home disappointed. With the Ravens outplaying the Patriots hands-down, you need to place blame on players. But the blame goes everywhere. It’s 3rd down and you have a timeout, why not call it when your team is scrambling to get set up? Lee Evans, why can’t you cover the ball if you know a defender is swatting away at you in the endzone? But the biggest goat is Billy (see what I did there?). You’re a pro kicker, and you tell Harbaugh the drive before that you can’t make a 50yd field goal? In fact, you’re 1-8 the entire season over 40 yards. Why not try, you’re not going to convert on 4th and long anyway. And then jeez, a 32 yard kick that was THAT far off? Just plain ridiculous. I hate placing blame on players (see 49ers game), but in this case you just have to. It will be a long offseason for the Nevermores.

NFC Championship Game:

There were 3 things I took away from the NFC Championship game this year. #1, the 49ers were no fluke this year, they are definitely legit. #2, Vernon Davis is an absolute beast. And #3, Eli Manning is a lot tougher than anybody thought! The San Francisco defense played incredibly, including the front 4. Manning picked himself up after 6 sacks and 12 knockdowns, each time looking battered with grass and mud everywhere on his uniform. But he kept going, and stood in the face of pressure after constantly getting absolutely drilled! This was one of those games where it seemed nearly impossible to score. Once it went into OT, I really felt like it could be a rare 2OT NFL game. But of course that’s not what happened. There was a Goat in the AFC Championship game, but you can’t blame Kyle Williams’ two fumbles on their loss. The first one was just a fluke and bad bounce of the ball that grazed his knee, and the OT fumble was a great defensive strip. I think the 49ers will win the NFC West for the next 2 years at least, and a Harbaugh Super Bowl is still very likely, but having the Giants win this game was the best for the NFL.

Eerie Stolen Déjà vu:

In 2007, the Giants started the playoffs by beating an NFC South team. Then they beat the No. 1 seed on the road. Then they beat the No. 2 seed in the conference title game when the foe turned it over in overtime and gave the Giants a short field and the Giants won on a Lawrence Tynes overtime field goal. Then they moved on to face the Patriots in the Super Bowl…sound familiar?Quote of the Week:

“We will sit down with New England’s controversial coach Bill Belichick” CBS (60 minutes I believe it was)…THANK YOU for throwing in that zinger, at least other people realize it!

It’s Super Bowl weekend people, AAAHHHHHHH!!!!! I hope everybody else is as excited as I am because this is the most exciting time of the year. Personally, other than Christmas this is probably the one day I look forward to most in the entire year. As most of my friends know, as much as I like alcohol, I will not drink during concerts or the Super Bowl because I don’t want to miss (or forget) one second of the action! The US should seriously consider making the Monday after Super Bowl a national holiday.

Ochenta y Cinco:

Does anybody know if Chad Ochocinco is even playing in the Super Bowl? Wonder if he’ll consider himself a part of a Super Bowl winning team since he’s basically done nothing with the Patriots?

QB Rematches:

This is the 3rd time in Super Bowl history that a Super Bowl rematch between Quarterbacks has occurred, and both times the winning QB went undefeated.

This should be a very hot and contested battle between these two teams. This will be a game very similar to the Super Bowl 4 years ago, with perhaps a bit more scoring than the 21-17 score. Probably very similar to the 24-20 score that we saw on Week 9. Here are a few predictions in the game. Gronkowski and Welker should each have a TD reception. The Patriots will try to run the ball, but abandon it with 10 minutes left in the 3rd quarter after racking up a mere 42 yards rushing. Gostkowski will kick 3 field goals after the Patriots drives stall within the red zone. Tom Brady will throw 2 interceptions. As for the Giants, Hakeem Nicks will have a 50+ yard catch, possibly for a TD. The 3 TD’s the Giants score will be a Bradshaw run, a Nicks fade to the back of the endzone, and a Victor Cruz slant from the 3 yard line. The Giants defense will step up, causing 2 interceptions and 1 fumble, while Brandon Jacobs fumbles the ball somewhere as well. Manning will struggle most of the day, but lead the Giants on an 80 yd touchdown drive within the last 4 minutes of the game. Brady will have a shot to match it with enough time, but will fail to convert on a 4th and 3. The Giants will end up winning the game 24-23, thus ensuring that Manning and Tom Coughlin go into the Hall of Fame. Brady and Belichick will look deflated after seeing that out of all the teams, the Giants have their number.

Lack of Hype?

I’ve heard a lot of people talking about this game having a lack of hype to anybody West of Pennsylvania. I seriously beg to differ. Sure the Northeast is highly represented in this game, but for every fan who’s team didn’t make it, they should be pumped about this matchup! It’s New York vs. Boston, rematch of the best Super Bowl ever played, rematch of one of the better games this season, and it’s Manning vs. Brady! How can this not be exciting?!?! I guarantee that this Super Bowl breaks TV viewing records, and the gameplay itself will not disappoint.

What happened to Los Tramposos?

As most friends know, don’t mess with my Rams or I’ll cobra up so fast you won’t know what hit you! I claimed in Week 2 that Los Tramposos would be smited by the football gods for faking injuries against the Rams on Monday Night Football. Well now I want nothing more than to have the Giants steal this dynasty talk from the Patriots…Why? Because the Patriots cheaply defeated Kurt Warner and my Rams back in 2001. I’m the only person in Rapid City who hates Adam Vinitieri (hometown hero). I seriously can’t let it go, and I will never like the Patriots or Tom Brady because of it. In case there has been any confusion so far, GO GIANTS!!!!

Three Possible Outcomes:

I have 3 predictions to this game, and I fail to see how there could be any different outcome. First, what will probably happen: The Giants will win the game 24-23. The second outcome: The Giants will revert back to their 9-7 limp into the playoffs form, and bad regular season defense to end up with a less than impressive 45-17 blowout by the Patriots. The final outcome: The Patriots offense gets shut down by the Giants, while Manning “cruz-es” through the 31st ranked Patriots defense to end the game winning 33-17. This will not be a 10 point game or a 2 possession game, there is an 80% chance of a 4 point or less game, and a 20% chance of a 20 point plus game. Get your Super Bowl pools ready!

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About FMQB

FMQB is a blog for football fans, by a football fan. Each week I try to show some insights into several games and interesting statistics while also bringing humor to the mix. Join me for some fun by taking a quick break every week to re-live the best game in the world.